Methods for extracting bone marrow

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus are presented for extracting and collecting bone marrow from the jawbone of a patient before, during, or after dental procedures. The method and apparatus further provides a readily accessible, and easily harvested, source of bone marrow without the drawbacks of current extraction methods.

This is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/886,173, filed Jul.1, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,859.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus forrecovering bone marrow from a patient and subsequent collection andstorage. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method ofobtaining bone marrow and bone marrow fluid from the jawbone of apatient with relative ease and minor discomfort before, during, or afterdental procedures, such as the removal of impacted or redundant thirdmolars or bicuspids for long term storage and/or for bone typing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a number of diseases in which the bone marrow is defective,such as aplastic anemia, some forms of leukemia, and deficiencies in thebone marrow caused by cancer treatments with drugs and irradiation. Thetreatment of choice for these diseases is bone marrow transplantation,provided a genetically compatible donor can be found. For instance, bonemarrow transplants are significantly reducing the death toll fromchildhood leukemias.

Bone marrow, also called myeloid tissue, is a soft, gelatinous tissuethat fills the cavity of the bones. Human bone consists of a hard outercortex and a soft medullary cavity that contains bone marrow. Bonemarrow consists of stroma, or supporting tissues which have spacespacked by blood cells. Bone marrow is either red or yellow, dependingupon the preponderance of vascular (red) or fatty (yellow) tissue. Inhumans, the red bone marrow forms all of the blood cells with theexception of the lymphocytes, which are produced in the marrow and reachtheir mature form in the lymphoid organs. Yellow bone marrow servesprimarily as a storehouse for fats, but may be converted to red marrowunder certain conditions, such as severe blood loss or fever. At birth,and until about the age of seven, all human marrow is red, as the needfor new blood formation is high. Thereafter, fat tissue graduallyreplaces the red marrow, which in adults is found in the vertebrae,hips, breast bone, ribs, and skull, and at the ends of the long bones ofthe arms and legs, other cancellous, or spongy bones, and the centralcavities of the long bones. In mammals, blood formation in adults takesplace predominantly in the marrow. Because the white blood cellsproduced in the bone marrow are involved in the body's immune defenses,marrow transplants have been used to treat certain types of immunedeficiencies. The sensitivity of marrow to damage by radiation and someanticancer drugs accounts for the tendency of these treatments to impairimmunity.

Bone marrow transplants can be divided into three groups according tothe source of the marrow for transplantation. They are calledautologous, syngeneic, or allogeneic. Autologous transplantation meansthat the bone marrow has been received directly from the recipient, andwill be an exact genetic match. A syngeneic transplant comes from anidentical twin of the recipient and will also be an exact genetic match.However, for allogeneic transplants, the bone marrow is provided byanother person, and the possibility of exact genetic matching is verylow.

It is reported that approximately 12,000 bone marrow transplants wereperformed in 1992, approximately half of which were allogeneic and halfautologous. Autologous transplantation has grown significantly duringthe past several years as improvements in procedures are made. Thenumber of patients receiving allogeneic transplants is also rising duein large part because donor registries have increased the number ofreadily available donors. Advances in bone marrow transplantationtechniques will likely continue to expand the use of the bone marrowtransplant procedure.

Generally, the recipient's sibling or parent will serve as the bestsource as the donor because of the high possibility of genetic matching.However, there are many cases where neither the parent nor the siblingwill be a compatible genetic match for the recipient. There has been arecent increase in the use of bone marrow from unrelated donors whichcan provide genetic compatibility between the donor and recipient. Thisincrease has been made possible through the existence of large bonemarrow registries, such as the National Marrow Donor Program, and theAmerican Bone Marrow Donor Registry. The drawback to these registriesare the insufficient number of donors that genetically match closelyenough with potential recipients to be of use.

The success of the bone marrow transplantation technique depends heavilyon genetically cross-matching the donor marrow cells to those of therecipient to prevent rejection. There is a significant tendency for therecipient patient to reject an allografted marrow because parts of thedonor marrow will attack their new host. There is an additional hazardbecause immune system cells in a marrow graft can react against thepatient's tissues, causing serious and sometimes fatal graft versus hostdisease. The ability to accept a bone marrow transplant (graft) from adonor, is dependent on the recipient sharing all of the donor'shistocompatibility genes. To avoid graft versus host rejection in thepast, special immunosuppressive treatment has been given. The use ofmonoclonal antibodies to selectively remove harmful lymphocytes from thedonor marrow has been successful in some cases to prevent graft versushost disease. However, the risk remains that unless the bone marrowsource is from the patient himself, an identical twin, sibling, parent,or other genetically compatible donor, that the bone marrowtransplantation cannot take place because it will result in graft versushost rejection, and the failure of the treatment, and possibly the deathof the recipient.

Therefore, there is a significant need to collect and store geneticallycompatible bone marrow for use in cases where bone marrowtransplantation is necessary to save the life of an individual. Becauseof the significant possibility that a donor cannot be found which is aclose genetic match to the recipient, there is a need to collect andstore an individual's own bone marrow while that individual is stillhealthy. If this is done, there will be a complete genetic match, andthe dangers of graft versus host rejection will be eliminated whichincreases the success of the treatment.

The collection of bone marrow for transplantation purposes is usuallyaccomplished by inserting a needle into a donor's hip or pelvic bone.Several small incisions are made in the pelvic area, and the needle isinserted through these incisions approximately 25 to 30 times towithdrawn the bone marrow from the bones. The extraction processtypically lasts at least one hour or more, or until approximately 500 to1000 milliliters of the donor's marrow is withdrawn.

The donor will fully recover in approximately a few weeks when all thedonated marrow has been replaced within the body. However, theextraction process is painful and there is typically soreness around theincisions until healing can occur. Typically, the donors also feelfatigued for some time after the procedure. The side effects to havingdonated bone marrow can vary from donor to donor. Infection from theincision is always a possibility. Additionally, blood loss can alsooccur, and proper medical attention is required. It is recommended thatdonors routinely store supplies of their own blood for infusion duringand after the extraction procedure in cases of emergencies.

Bone marrow can be obtained through biopsy or aspiration from thesternum or the calvarium in adults, and in long bones, such as the femurand tibia, in adolescents. Biopsy needles for extraction of solid bonemarrow are known. Examples of such biopsy needles are U.S. Pat. Nos.2,991,692; 2,426,535; 2,496,111; 4,272,676; 4,266,555; 4,543,966;4,487,209; 4,840,184; and 4,922,602, which show the overall structureand orientation of the components. Needles used for aspiration of liquidbone marrow are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,109. Needles designedto both biopsy and aspirate bone marrow are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.2,496,111; 3,587,560; 5,012,818; and 5,357,974.

There is a need for bone marrow extraction techniques that avoid theconsiderable inconvenience, discomfort, and pain due to current bonemarrow extraction procedures and aspiration methods. Therefore, there isalso a need to provide a method and apparatus to obtain both solid andliquid bone marrow from a donor with minimal intrusion and pain. Thereis also a need for the bone marrow to be stored for later use and isaccomplished with relative ease.

The present invention provides for a dental apparatus used forextracting the bone marrow that includes a means to bore a hole in thejawbone of a patient and to immediately collect the bone marrow in aspecialized collection means all in one system. Another embodiment ofthe apparatus of this invention includes a bone marrow apparatus thathas various sources of solution supply and collectors for the purpose ofpreparing the collected bone marrow for storage, preservation, andsubsequent use.

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for the extractionof bone marrow from the jawbone of the donor, which will eliminate theproblems often associated with obtaining bone marrow from conventionalmethods. It should be noted that literally millions of dentalextractions of third molars and bicuspids in young, healthy adults andadolescents are performed each year. Thus, the collection, typing, andstorage of bone marrow obtained during this procedure provides animmediate source of highly desirable autologous bone marrow forlong-term storage. It also provides a means for obtaining allogeneicbone marrow for registry and storage in National Registries which willprovide greater access for everyone to bone marrow of perfect ornear-perfect genetic match to potential recipients.

The invention further provides a method for providing an easilyobtainable source of bone marrow, that requires no hospitalization,minimal discomfort, and provides no scarring as is common in theconventional extraction procedures. It also provides for the ability ofan individual to collect and store his own bone marrow before the onsetof any disease, such as childhood leukemias, which usually occursbetween the ages of 15 and 30.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides embodiments directed to a novel andimproved method and apparatus for bone marrow extraction. A method forextracting and collecting bone marrow from a jawbone of a patientcomprises the steps of boring a hole in the jawbone to a depthsufficient to form a jawbone bone marrow extraction site, extracting thebone marrow from the jawbone bone marrow extraction site, and collectingand storing the bone marrow in a collection chamber.

The method may further comprise the step of infusing a solution into avoid in the jawbone resulting from the bone marrow extracting step. Thesolution may be selected from the group consisting of anticoagulantcontaining saline solution and electrolyte solution.

The method may include the steps of mixing the bone marrow with a liquidto form a mixture, transferring the mixture to the collection chamber,and isolating the bone marrow from the mixture to form isolated bonemarrow. The method may further comprises the steps of preserving theisolated bone marrow with a preservative to form preserved bone marrowand storing the preserved bone marrow.

Another method for extracting and collecting bone marrow from thejawbone of a patient comprises the steps of: boring a hole in thejawbone to form a jawbone bone marrow extraction site; introducing abiopsy needle into the jawbone bone marrow extraction site, wherein thebiopsy needle is connected to a suction source; penetrating a medullarycavity of the jawbone bone marrow extraction site with the biopsyneedle; collecting solid bone marrow through the biopsy needle;penetrating the medullary cavity with the biopsy needle; breaking marrowstroma with the biopsy needle; activating a pump to aspirate liquid bonemarrow from the broken marrow stroma; and collecting the liquid bonemarrow through biopsy needle.

This method may further comprise the step of selectively activating avalve to selectively generate suction in the suction tube.

Methods of the invention comprise the steps of withdrawing bone marrowfrom the jawbone of a patient and collecting the bone marrow in such away as to eliminate bone marrow aspiration pain. The method alsoprovides for the extraction and collection of the bone marrow forlong-term storage and personal banking following dental extraction orsurgery. The method employs extracting bone marrow by a simple intrusioninto the donor's jawbone immediately before, during, or after a dentalprocedure.

A significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a methodfor extraction of bone marrow from the jawbone of young, healthypatients during dental procedures, including the removal of impacted orredundant third molars or bicuspids. This method allows for the readyaccessibility of large quantities of bone marrow in multiple locations.An advantage to this procedure is that additional incisions, other thanthose already performed, are not necessary because access to the marrowis already present. Furthermore, because there is no need for additionalincisions, virtually no additional pain or medical complications, otherthan that experienced by the routine dental procedure, is experienced bythe patient.

According to this invention, the bone marrow can also be collectionduring other surgical procedures, such as dental implants. The anteriormandible is an extremely safe area to obtain bone marrow without risk toany other vital structures. Another area where large amounts of bonemarrow are readily available, according to this invention, is theanterior boarder of the ramus of the mandible. The method also avoidsthe risk of visible scarring.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the uses ofbone marrow other than for storage includes use in bone regenerationprocedures such as periodontal bone grafts, sinus lifts, and implantplacement. Through the use of known multiplication procedures, this bonemarrow can then be multiplied.

Another aspect of this invention allows for the genetic typing of thebone marrow collected to be put to other uses, such as cross-typing fororgan transplants in traumatic circumstances.

An additional aspect of the invention is to treat the bone marrow beforestorage or transplantation in an effort to protect a patient from arelapse caused by undetected cancer cells.

Further treatment, when needed, of collected bone marrow encompassed bythis invention includes the removal of blood and bone fragments. Forinstance, T-cell depletion can be used in allogeneic bone marrow toremove T-lymphocytes. Collected bone marrow can also be combined with apreservative, such as dimethyl sulfoxide ("DMSO") before storage andstored in a liquid nitrogen freezer until the day of transplantation.This technique, known as cryopreservation, allows the bone marrow to bepreserved for a long period of time.

Cryopreservation permits bone marrow extracted during adolescence to bepreserved throughout the lifetime of the donor. Currently, bone marrowtransplantation is not used routinely in elderly adults because of thehigh risk of infection caused by the use of immunosuppressant drugs inuse today. Thus, the availability of autologous bone marrow high in stemcells opens the door for a wide variety of treatment options, includinganemia and osteoporosis.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for carrying out themethod of this invention. One embodiment of the apparatus of the presentinvention includes a bone marrow extraction apparatus that has varioussources of solution supply and collectors for the purpose of preparingthe collected bone marrow for storage, preservation, and subsequent use.

In another embodiment, a dental apparatus for extracting bone marrowfrom a patient comprises a housing, means attached to the housing forextracting bone marrow from an extraction site, and means for collectingbone marrow extracted from the extraction site.

The extracting means may comprise a solid bone marrow extractionportion, the solid bone marrow extraction portion including a first anda second end, the first end being for collecting bone marrow. Theextracting means may also comprise a liquid bone marrow extractionportion comprising a first end and a second end, the first end being forbreaking bone marrow stroma and aspirating the liquid marrow.

In another embodiment, the extracting means comprises a bur and thecollecting means comprises a passage in the housing. The collectingmeans may include a vacuum in communication with the passage in thehousing.

The dental apparatus for extracting bone marrow from a patient may alsocomprise means for breaking up extracted bone marrow.

In another embodiment, the dental apparatus for extracting bone marrowfrom a patient comprises a housing having a cavity, a hollow shaftdisposed in the cavity and having first and second ends, a bur attachedto the first end of the hollow shaft, a beveled gear attached to thesecond end of the hollow shaft, and a drive gear matingly engaged to thebeveled gear. A first passage is defined in the housing and is incommunication with the hollow shaft for passing irrigation fluid to theextraction site. A second passage is defined in the housing and is incommunication with the cavity for passing bone marrow from the cavity toa collection device. A vacuum may be placed in communication with thesecond passage.

In a further embodiment, the housing of the dental apparatus has adetachable portion, and at least a part of the second passage is definedin the detachable portion of the housing.

In another embodiment, the hollow shaft has a circumferential outersurface, and a spiral cutting blade for breaking up bone marrow isattached to the outer surface of the hollow shaft.

The collection device may comprise a tube in communication with thesecond passage and a container connected to the tube. The tube mayinclude a valve for controlling a flow of bone marrow into thecontainer.

A source for irrigation fluid may be placed in fluid communication withthe first passage. The walls defining the cavity may have ridges forbreaking up bone marrow prior to passage of the bone marrow through thesecond passage.

Further features and advantages will become apparent from the followingand more particular description of the preferred and other embodimentsof the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying FIGS. 1 through 4in which like reference characters generally refer to the same parts orelements throughout the views, and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the dentalapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the embodiment ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of an alternativeembodiment of the apparatus of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of an alternativeembodiment of the apparatus of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the principles and concepts of a bone marrowextraction apparatus well adapted for use according to the invention.Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an apparatus 10 capable of boring a hole in ajawbone 13 and extracting bone marrow therefrom. The apparatus 10comprises a housing 17, structure 20 attached to the housing 17 forextracting bone marrow from an extraction site, and structure 23 forcollecting bone marrow extracted from the extraction site.

The housing 17 has a cavity 26. A hollow shaft 29 having a conduit 30and first and second end portions 32 and 35 is rotatably mounted in thehousing 17 with the end portion 35 being disposed in the cavity 26. Theend portion 32 includes a bur 38 having a cutting flute 39 for boring ahole in the jawbone 13. A beveled gear 41 is attached to the second endportion 35 of the hollow shaft 29. A drive gear 44 is matingly engagedto the beveled gear 41. The drive gear 44 is connected by a shaft 47 toan electrical motor, a pneumatic motor, or other suitable equipment (notshown) for driving the drive gear 44. The shaft 47 may be connected tothe motor or other drive source by any feasible mechanical or otherconnection means. By engaging the shaft 47, the drive source rotates theshaft 47 so as to cause rotation of bur 38. As shown in FIG. 3, theshaft 47 may be adapted to be driven by a standard "E" motor.

The housing 17 has a first passage 50 in communication with the hollowshaft 29. The first passage 50 is for passing irrigation fluid to theextraction site. The irrigation fluid passes through the passage 50 andthen through the conduit 30 to the extraction site. The irrigation fluidcools the extraction site and adds liquid to the extracted fluids andsolids to facilitate removal by suction. A source 51 (FIG. 1) ofirrigation fluid may be connected to the housing 17 so that the source51 is in communication with the first passage 50. The housing 17 has asecond passage 53 in communication with the cavity 26. The secondpassage 53 is for passing bone marrow from the cavity 26 to a collectiondevice 56 (FIG. 1).

A suction tube 57 may be connected to the second passage 53 forextracting solid bone marrow from the medullary cavity of the donor. Therotating bur 38 and the suction tube 57 are preferably detachablyconnectible to the housing. The housing 17 may be a hand-held powerunit. However, while the housing 17 may be formed in a generallycylindrical handle-type configuration as shown in FIG. 1, such apparatusmay be of other forms, including a pistol grip-type configuration (notshown).

Apparatus 10 may include structure for breaking up bone marrow intosmaller particles prior to the entry of the particles into the secondpassage 53. For example, a spiral cutting blade 59 may be attached tothe outer surface of the hollow shaft 29 for breaking up particles whilethe hollow shaft 29 rotates. Additionally or alternatively, the cavity26 may be defined by walls having ridges 62. The ridges 62 break up thebone marrow into smaller particles as the particles pass through thecavity 26 into the second passage 53.

As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 17 may have a detachable portion 65. Atleast a part of the second passage 53 is defined in the detachableportion 65. Alternatively, the second passage 53 may be connected to theoutside portion of the housing 17 of FIGS. 2 and 4.

The suction tube 57, which includes an integral valve 68 (FIG. 1), isattached to a vacuum source 71 (shown schematically in FIG. 1) at oneend and a suction tip (not shown) at the other end. The integral valve68, which comprises a housing and a pivotal obturator, permits anoperator of the apparatus to selectively produce suction through thesuction tube 57 with one hand. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,830.

A vacuum source 74 (FIG. 1) withdraws solid and liquid bone marrow fromthe medullary cavity into the suction tube 57, which transfers the solidand liquid bone marrow to the collection device 56.

The apparatus 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 could be used immediately before,during, or after a dental procedure or dental surgery. Thus, an adaptionof the apparatus 10 described above which does not contain the rotatingbur 38 is also in accordance with the present invention. Preferably, therotating bur 38 incorporates an internal vacuum. More preferably, theconfiguration would be an entirely disposable unit designed to fit on astandard dental straight hand piece or to fit on a standard "E" motor,either air driven or electric.

A biopsy needle 85, shown schematically in FIG. 1, may be used inconjunction with the apparatus 10. One configuration for utilizing thebiopsy needle 85 includes a tube 80 (FIG. 1) in communication with thevalve 68 and the suction tube 57. The biopsy needle 85 may be connectedat an end of the tube 80. The valve 68 may be used to control whethersuction is produced through the tube 57 (and therefore the apparatus10), the tube 80, or, if desired, both the tube 80 and the tube 57simultaneously. When suction is produced in the tubes 57, 80simultaneously, the biopsy needle 85 may be positioned adjacent theextraction site to provide extra suction and to otherwise assist theapparatus 10 in extracting bone marrow.

Alternatively, an end 90 of the tube 57 may be removed from the housing17. A biopsy needle may be attached to the end 90 of the tube 57. Thebiopsy needle may then be positioned adjacent the extraction site toassist in bone marrow extraction. In this configuration, all suctionwould be provided by the biopsy needle, because the apparatus 10 wouldnot be in communication with the vacuum source 74.

A preferred embodiment has a rotating bur 38 that is oversized forvacuum collection. The rotating bur 38 may be made of, for example,carbides, stainless steel, or plastic, and comprises at least one largeopening similar to internal irrigating burs used for implants, with acuff as either an integral part of a disposal hand piece or attachableto the bur 38, allowing free rotation of the forward portion only. Therotating bur 38 is connected to a vacuum hand piece similar to thehousing 17, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,635. The rotatingbur 38 may also be contained within the suction tube 57.

The liquid bone marrow can be obtained from dental extraction sitesusing a heavy metal blunt instrument following dental extraction tocompress the bone alone and integrated vacuum to collect the bonemarrow.

The apparatus 10 may include a solid bone marrow extraction portionhaving a first end and a second end. The first end is for collectingbone marrow. The apparatus 10 may also include a liquid bone marrowextraction portion comprising a first end and a second end. The firstend is for breaking bone marrow stroma and aspirating the liquid marrow.Some conventional biopsy needles may be used to provide the solid bonemarrow extraction portion and the liquid bone marrow extraction portion.

The apparatus of FIG. 2 may further comprise an elongated stainlesssteel solid marrow pushing probe to express a solid marrow specimenoutside the cavity 26 after the procedure. (Not shown in FIG. 5.) Oneexample is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,818.

The extraction of bone marrow from the jawbone during a dental procedureprovides an advantage to the dental procedure alone in that it decreasesthe percentage of extraction sites experiencing dry sockets. This is dueto the perforation of the compressed bone, of the tooth socket.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for a bonemarrow extraction apparatus which effects the removal of bone marrow andbone marrow fluid from a donor at the jawbone and mixes the removed bonemarrow with a suitable form of solution, such as a mixture ofanticoagulant and saline or electrolytic solution. The bone marrow andbone marrow fluid removed from the donor are then transferred eitherinto a cell separator or a suitable collection bag, such as thecollection chamber 56, so as to permit separation of the bone marrow andfluid for subsequent processing and long-term storage. The collectedbone marrow may also be used for the subsequent reinjection into thedonor in future bone marrow transplantation procedures.

In the removal of the bone marrow from the donor, a solution consistingof heparin or other anticoagulant compositions, together with a salinesolution, can be mixed with the bone marrow and bone marrow fluidbefore, during, and/or after being transferred into separating orcollecting means.

The collection device 56 may be a bag containing chemicals forpreserving bone marrow. The chemicals may be in the bag prior to thewithdrawal of bone marrow from the jaw of a patient. In this manner,after bone marrow has been collected, the device 56 can be stored colddirectly. Additionally or alternatively, chemicals can be added to thecollection device 56 during or after collection of bone marrow topreserve the bone marrow. Suitable means for adding chemicals to acontainer such as the collection device 56 are well known in the art andmay include penetrable membranes at specific locations on the collectiondevice 56.

The collection device 56 is preferably collapsible so that air may beremoved after collection has occurred. Removal of air increases theuseful life of the bone marrow.

From the foregoing, disclosed is a bone marrow collection apparatuswhich is easily adapted to conventional dental or medical equipment. Atechnical advantage of the extraction-removing equipment of theinvention is that bone marrow can be more quickly removed thanconventional extraction procedures.

The dental apparatus according to the invention is not limited to thatspecifically disclosed and may comprise tools other than that describedherein. Andre Schroeder et al., Oral Implantology, pages 66-71, 118-151,178-187, 202-217, and 228-243 (George Thieme Verlag, 1988), disclosesadditional tools that are capable of boring holes in jawbones. Further,U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,374 discloses a device that is capable of extractingboth solid and liquid bone marrow. Adaptation of this device may also beused in accordance with the present invention therefor.

In a preferred method according to this invention, a donor is positionedin a dental examination chair. A hole is formed in the donor's jawbonebefore, during, or immediately after a conventional dental procedureusing the boring portion or bur 38 of the apparatus according to thepresent invention. The boring portion or bur 38 can also be used tobreak up the bone marrow after a hole is formed. The area of marrowextraction is sterilized with an antiseptic solution. The entireprocedure of obtaining both solid and liquid bone marrow can beaccomplished in less than one to two minutes. The large lumen isintroduced into the previously made bore hole and pushed into themedullary cavity. The large lumen is pushed further into the marrowcavity with forward pressure in order to obtain solid marrow. The largeround bur can simultaneously irrigate and vacuum.

Liquid bone marrow sample is obtained by applying a negative pressure inthe small lumen of the suction tube 57 using a vacuum source (notshown). This results in the breaking of marrow stroma and the release offluid marrow.

Collagen resorbable membranes or plugs can be used to cover the accessto the bone marrow. This assures replacement of bone with bony and notfibrous tissue.

In summary, this invention overcomes many inconveniences of the existingbone marrow extraction methods. First, this is a new method of obtainingboth solid and liquid marrow in a single procedure. Secondly, theapparatus allows reducing the procedure of extracting and collectinginto one step.

While the invention has been described in detail in the drawings andforegoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrated andnot restrictive in character. It being understood only in the preferredembodiment and methods have been shown and described, and all changesand modifications that come within the spirit of the invention aredesired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for extracting and collecting bonemarrow from a jawbone of a patient, the method comprising:boring a holein the jawbone to a depth sufficient to form a jawbone bone marrowextraction site; extracting the bone marrow from the jawbone bone marrowextraction site; and collecting and storing the bone marrow in acollection chamber.
 2. The method according to claim 1 furthercomprising aspirating liquid bone marrow from the jawbone bone marrowsite.
 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the bone marrow,prior to the extracting step, is solid.
 4. The method according to claim3 further comprising:mixing the bone marrow with a liquid to form amixture; transferring the mixture to the collection chamber; andisolating the bone marrow from the mixture to form isolated bone marrow.5. The method according to claim 4 further comprising:preserving theisolated bone marrow with a preservative to form preserved bone marrow;and storing the preserved bone marrow.
 6. The method according to claim1 or 2 further comprising infusing a solution into a void in the jawboneresulting from the bone marrow extracting step.
 7. The method accordingto claim 6 wherein the solution is selected from the group consisting ofanticoagulant containing saline solution and electrolyte solution. 8.The method according to claim 1 wherein the method is performed inconjunction with a dental procedure.
 9. A method for extracting andcollecting bone marrow from the jawbone of a patient, the methodcomprising:boring a hole in the jawbone to form a jawbone bone marrowextraction site; introducing a biopsy needle into the jawbone bonemarrow extraction site, wherein the biopsy needle is connected to asuction source; penetrating a medullary cavity of the jawbone bonemarrow extraction site with the biopsy needle; collecting solid bonemarrow through the biopsy needle; penetrating the medullary cavity withthe biopsy needle; breaking marrow stroma with the biopsy needle;activating a pump to aspirate liquid bone marrow from the broken marrowstroma; and collecting the liquid bone marrow through biopsy needle. 10.The method according to claim 9 further comprising:selectivelyactivating a valve to selectively generate suction in the biopsy needle.11. The method according to claim 9 further comprising:preserving thebone marrow with a preservative; and storing the preserved bone marrow.12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the preservative isdimethyl sulfoxide.
 13. The method according to claim 9 furthercomprising infusing a solution into a void in the jawbone produced bythe bone marrow extraction.